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Vicki Gerdes

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Staff writer at Detroit Lakes Newspapers for the past 16 years, currently editor of the entertainment and community pages as well as covering city council and the Lake Park-Audubon School Board. Living in DL with my cat, Smokey.

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(218) 844-1454

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DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — Gary Thompson has been pulling pieces of history out of Becker County's lakes and rivers for going on half a century now. "This will be my 50th year," says Thompson, owner and proprietor of Detroit Lakes' Tri-State Diving. "I started diving in 1967... I paid for my first set of scuba gear out of my high school graduation money."

In one form or another, the phenomenon known as "ham" (i.e., amateur) radio has been around since the late 19th century. Though some might say that the advent of digital communication technology has rendered it somewhat obsolete, the hobby is alive and well in Becker County, where the monthly meetings of the Detroit Lakes Amateur Radio Club typically draw upwards of a dozen or more radio enthusiasts.

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. -- Many comedy performers start young, polishing their well-honed stand-up acts at bars and comedy clubs in major cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. But for Minnesota’s Mitzie Calgaro, the path to comedy success has been anything but planned. This wife and mother from the tiny town of Goodland, Minn., is a relative newcomer to the world of comedy, despite having celebrated her 51st birthday this year.

In one of the final hurdles toward the opening of Perham’s newest local business, the City Council approved an on-sale taproom license, Sunday license and brewer off-sale license for Disgruntled Brewery, LLC at its Monday night meeting. There were no comments from the audience during the brief public hearing held prior to the council’s approval of the licenses.

Perham-The good news for Perham residents is that the final 2015, payable 2016 city property tax levy approved at Monday night’s city council meeting was about 1 percent lower than the preliminary levy approved back in September. The bad news is that the $1,231,784 total levy is still up by 4 percent over last year — and that total does not reflect the recently passed Perham-Dent School District referendum of $45.27 million, which will take effect next year.

Perham-Perham’s city parks are going tobacco free, following action by the Perham City Council Monday to approve a new ordinance to that effect. The council also approved an ordinance that will prohibit the use of “electronic delivery devices” (i.e., e-cigarettes, e-cigars and e-pipes) in all workplaces and public spaces — now including city parks — where smoking of traditional tobacco products is not allowed.

Perham-The Perham City Council has joined forces with the local Chamber of Commerce and Otter Tail Coalition of Lake Associations (COLA) to oppose the stocking of muskies in the Otter Tail lakes chain. By unanimous resolution, city council members approved drafting a letter to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to that effect, following a special council meeting last Wednesday.

Area mountain biking aficionados have had the date circled on their calendar for weeks, but hikers should also take note: The biking and hiking trails at Detroit Mountain Recreation Area will be open for business starting this Saturday, June 27. The trails, professionally built by Arkansas-based Progressive Trail Design, have been designed to host all levels of mountain biking enthusiasts. They include seven miles of single track, cross country flow trails, optimized for mountain bike use; four downhill gravity and jump trail

It’s part dinner theater, part family-friendly comedy show and part fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Detroit Lakes and Perham. Triple Espresso, the award-winning, global hit comedy about three guys in a coffee shop, is coming to Detroit Lakes’ Historic Holmes Theatre this Saturday, March 7, for a 7:30 p.m. show. But prior to the performance, there will also be a dinner, catered by Spanky’s Stone Hearth of Vergas. The fun begins with a 5 p.m.